


endless daisy chains.

by kiddingway



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Psychological, Some bullying, We love that for her, hyunjin's kinda weird, kind of like the joker movie, something kinda weird goin on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21965707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiddingway/pseuds/kiddingway
Summary: Hyunjin was a peculiar case, Heejin found it interesting.or,Hyunjin defends her favorite cat from being terrorized by a group of boys and Heejin just happens to witness it.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin
Comments: 11
Kudos: 83





	1. newton.

Hyunjin never fought back. 

She never knew what would happen if she tried to. 

She wouldn't think she'd stop. 

She didn't think she would be able to stop herself. 

But, oh, how badly she wanted to fight back. 

Instead, she laughed; pained but somehow genuine. The type of laughter that had you curled into a ball, bouts and bouts of laughter coming out with no way of stopping it, tears springing into your eyes, feeling the cramps form on the sides of your body. For whatever reason, it helped her. It made the people who tried to feel all big and mighty go away, even if it was just temporary. 

"C'mon, let's just go." She barely heard the ringleader's call over her raucous laughter, she could only focus on how her chest tightened the more she felt the air leave her lungs, felt the concrete dig into her arms with each little movement, the sting of the scrapes she had on her hands, knees, and elbows. But she couldn't really care. Every time she laughed that much, she felt like she was on cloud nine, as odd as it might sound. 

"Fuckin' freak." Her laughter only grew in volume, drowning out the sounds of their footsteps as they left. 

And then she was left alone, her laughter bouncing off the walls of the alley. 

_**:**.. **:**_

"It happened again."

"Someone bothered you?" 

Hyunjin hummed, her focus entirely enraptured by the Newton's cradle sitting on the desk, unmoving. It taunted her. She's always known the spheres to be in motion, a demonstration of conserving energy and momentum as one steel sphere collides into the other four, resulting in the last one to swing upward, and then collide back into the other four again to repeat the process over and over again; a continuous rotation she learned about back in middle school. _Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred._ The statement that was forever engraved into her mind despite never recalling ever bringing it up recently. She was surprised she still remembered it at all. 

" _Hyunjin._ " 

"Hm?" she hummed again, clearly distracted and barely paying any mind to her therapist. She just couldn't stop staring at the Newton's cradle. She wanted to see it in motion.

In theory, she _could_ do it. She could do it herself. All she had to do was reach over the desk, pluck one of the spheres in between her thumb and forefinger, pull back, and let go. It was so simple. It wasn't a complicated concept. 

"Did you get hurt?" 

A giggle bubbled out of Hyunjin, she looked down at her hands, a grin widening in amusement as she took a look at the small, red scrapes on her palms. She could feel the irritation on her elbows and knees, too. Still giggling, she looked up at her counselor with a grin plastered on her face, "No, ma'am, Mrs. Doctor, ma'am." She laughed heartily at her own comment, scooting herself to the edge of her seat as she looked up at her therapist. "Nothin' but a few scrapes. Nothing-nothing I can't handle."

There was a brief silence between them, in which Hyunjin took the opportunity to look back at Newton's cradle. She wondered if it was new—it _must_ have been, this was the first time Hyunjin's seen it in her office—but the fact that it wasn't being used bothered Hyunjin. The smile that had come so easily to her lips fell quickly at the thought, why couldn't it just be in motion constantly?

And then she remembered—all those years back in physics class—being taught that Newton's cradle could never swing forever, hitting each other caused friction, which refrained it from going on forever. If there was no friction, then Newton's cradle would have no problem hitting each other for years on end if given the possibility. Hyunjin wished that were the case, she thought she'd be entranced forever. 

"I can help you, Hyunjin," her therapist speaking up momentarily brought her attention back to the present, but Hyunjin couldn't tear her gaze away from the Newton's cradle for too long. "I've told you this countless times. Just tell me who it is that's bothering you. We could get this all to stop." 

That comment was enough to spark laughter from Hyunjin again. "I don't even know them."

"Well, they go to college with you, don't they?" she pressed on. 

But Hyunjin merely shrugged, bending her elbow on the armrest of the chair she was sitting on and placing her chin in her hand. "Maybe. I dunno."

A sigh rang out before Hyunjin noticed her open up her laptop. "Well, you could at least tell me what happened."

Hyunjin detected the annoyance laced under the professional tone, but she had grown so accustomed to people usually talking to her like that that she barely batted an eyelash as she began to recount the events. She tilted her head to the side, letting strands of hair over her cheek before explaining, "I was going to the alley to see Pudding—"

"The stray cat?" her therapist interrupted, her fingers typing away at her keyboard. 

"Yup! I wanted to give him some food before I came here, but then these three guys came up, right? They were asking 'bout something, I dunno, not really important. But there was this real big guy—I swear, he was _super_ tall—started talkin' and he had the weirdest, high-pitch voice ever." Hyunjin was beginning to laugh, her words getting cut up multiple times as she tried to speak, "I-I dunno what it was, but-but I start laughing and I think I called him Squeaker or something—he didn't like that _at all_." Hyunjin leaned back in the chair, one scraped up hand coming up to cover her mouth as she laughed. "Th-They got all mad and here-here we are!" Extending her arms out in a grand gesture, Hyunjin beamed a toothy grin at her therapist who only continued to type vigorously on her laptop. 

"And nothing else happened?

Chuckling, Hyunjin scratched the back of her neck and shrugged. "I mean, they pushed me down," she held up her hand to show her therapist. "That's how I got these," she declared proudly as if she were showing off a trophy she had just won. 

"Did you think about fighting back, Hyunjin?" she dropped her hand into her lap, sobering up from her former giddy attitude. "Does it ever come to mind? Talking back to them? Defending yourself? Even physically engaging?" 

Of course, Hyunjin did. She always thought about what would happen if she even remotely did something back to the people who confronted her. It elicited a feeling she wished she could act on; it was indescribable to her. She didn't think she could ever properly explain the feeling without fully experiencing it. But then came the thought of what she'd do if she ever got to that point; would she be able to stop like a Newton's cradle when friction eventually leads the spheres to a halt? Or would she just keep going? Inflicting pain without ever wanting to stop—without ever being able to stop? Frankly, just the thought sent Hyunjin's mind reeling. 

Hyunjin shook her head, slouching in her chair, her gaze dropping back to the Newton's cradle. "No." 

Because Hyunjin couldn't possibly admit that. Her mouth may run faster than her mind, but she knew when to hold her tongue. If she were to tell her therapist right then and there that she'd like nothing more than to pummel someone's head into concrete it'd be lights out for her. Hyunjin knew that much at least. 

"Not at all? Not a single urge?" her therapist pressed, the clicking of her keyboard falling silent. 

Pursing her lips and shaking her head, Hyunjin mumbled, "Nope." Another sigh, prompting an amused smile to curl Hyunjin's lips as the clicking from the keyboard resumed. "Don't got a mean bone in my body, Doc," Hyunjin then held up her elbow, bending it and using her other hand to point at it. "Only funny bones!" Laughter erupted from Hyunjin, finding her pun extremely amusing and even eliciting a reserved smile from her therapist. 

Hyunjin's laughter lasted for a few more seconds, her therapist pausing in her typing as she inspected her; her chin propped up with both hands as Hyunjin began to settle back down. "You're absolutely positive you don't know who the people who pick on you are?"

With her chest slightly heaving and a smile still ghosting her lips, Hyunjin shook her head. "Nope," she popped the 'p', running a hand through her hair to smoothen it back down as her gaze returned to the Newton's cradle. "It's someone new pretty much every week."

"Not even a description of them? How they look, how they talk, who they were with?"

"They all look the same to me, Doc." 

Exasperated, her therapist closed her laptop, casually checking the time on her watch as she did so. Hyunjin paid no mind to her, her focus now circling back toward the invention that sat on the desk, collecting dust and remaining immobile. Her fingers twitched in her lap, itching to just set one of the balls in motion so that they could, in turn, put Isaac Newton's theory to test. 

"You're extremely hard to read at times, Hyunjin," her therapist began, but it practically went through one ear and out the other for Hyunjin. "But sometimes," she reached out toward the Newton's cradle and pinched one of the spheres between her thumb and forefinger—Hyunjin gasping audibly when she began to lift the ball as high as it would go with the strings attached. "Sometimes, you make things incredibly obvious." She let go. Hyunjin watched enamored—completely in awe—as the steel ball collided with its counterpart, signaling a chain reaction through them all until it reached the one on the other end, sending it swinging up, then down, and repeating the cycle. Amused and giddy with joy, Hyunjin clapped her hands and laughed like a child would when impressed with a spectacular magic trick. "You're a puzzling case, Hyunjin."

_**:..:** _

"How'd it go today?"

Hyunjin glanced up as she dropped her backpack down by the door as soon as she walked into her dorm room, barely looking over to where Hyejoo sat at one of the desks using her computer to play some type of video game. 

"Same old, same old," Hyunjin replied, slipping her shoes off before giving herself a running start to jump up onto the ledge of her bunk bed, using Hyejoo's lower bunk to propel her upward and toward her own bed. She promptly let herself fall flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling with an exaggerated huff. 

"Anyone bother you on the way?" Hyejoo asked, and for a moment Hyunjin was curious as to how Hyejoo could multitask like that because she's seen her roommate play those complicated games, it baffled her how she could hold a conversation while still completely immersed in her game. "Fucking shitty ass jungle feeding in my god damn lane," Hyejoo grumbled before the rapid clicking from her keyboard sounded out—most likely cursing out the poor player Hyejoo was playing with. 

The comment alone was enough to gauge a surprised laugh from Hyunjin. After all this time being roomed with Hyejoo, she still found it entertaining when she'd get mad and spew insulting nonsense toward her computer. She wasn't sure how a jungle could feed something, much less a lane. It was fruitless asking for an explanation; Hyunjin would get distracted with something else anyway. 

"Yeah," she offered bluntly as she picked at a hangnail on her ring finger. "Some guys got annoyed with me," she shrugged as if Hyejoo could see her. "No biggie." 

Hyejoo grunted but Hyunjin couldn't tell if the irritation was from her video game or the fact people bothered her again—most likely the latter. "You know, you could always let me know who they are," Hyejoo mumbled, making Hyunjin turn on her side and peer over the railing of her bunkbed. "Me and Yerim could always set them straight."

Hyunjin snorted at that, thinking it absurd and humorous to imagine Yerim—Hyejoo's girlfriend who would never hurt a fly—face against three guys who could be jocks. "It's fine, don't worry 'bout it. How is Yerim, by the way?"

"Fine, she's comin' by in, like," hastily, Hyejoo flipped her phone over from where it was face down beside her computer before putting it back down to return to her match, "five-ish minutes. She told me to ask you if you wanted to hang out with us."

For a moment, Hyunjin was distracted by the vantage point she had over Hyejoo's computer, watching in curious confusion at all the activity happening on her screen. She was drawn to all the bright colors that flashed around, the movements of the camera, the various effects like bursts of fire or some kind of purple magic being propelled forward; she was easily drawn to those sorts of things. It was all over with a big red explosion of some type of large crystal, letters engulfing the screen in a blue glow—overpowering the red from behind—and displaying Hyejoo's team's victory.

"Hyun."

"Huh? Sorry, what?" Hyunjin quickly turned toward her roommate who sported an unamused look toward her, contrary to the goofy smile curling Hyunjin's own lips. "God," she huffed out, resting her chin on the railing as she looked down at Hyejoo, "you always look so grumpy. How did you ever catch Yerim?"

"I take it back: you're not coming with us."

"Take what back?"

As if on cue, the door to their room swung open with the arrival of Yerim, her arms extended out wide. "I'm here!" she announced cheerily, causing Hyejoo to flinch at her volume and Hyunjin to grin at her grand entrance. 

"How'd you get in?" Hyejoo pondered, looking at the door flung wide open.

"The door was open by a crack, one of you didn't close it all the way," Yerim explained, turning around to close it shut. 

Hyejoo turned to glare daggers at Hyunjin because it could've only been her considering she had returned from her appointment. But Hyunjin ignored her, instead beaming a smile down at Yerim. "Hi, Yerim," she greeted, shuffling around on her bed so that she faced her.

"Hi, Hyunjin!" Yerim bounded over to Hyejoo, greeting her with a chaste kiss to her cheek—Hyejoo reacting with feign disgust—and draped her arm over her shoulders before turning to Hyunjin. "Did Hyejoo ask you?"

Furrowing her brows, Hyunjin shook her head, "Ask me what?"

"Jesus Christ, Hyun." Hyejoo glared at her, to which Yerim pressed her thumb in between her brows to smooth out the crease that formed there; it only returned when Yerim moved her hand away. "Do you ever listen?" 

Undeterred, she looked to Yerim for an answer. "Ask me what?"

Yerim, clearly amused by the back and forth between them, answered Hyunjin with Hyejoo glaring at her now, "If you wanted to hang out with us!"

"Oh, really?"

"Nope, off the table. I already _un_ _invited_ her."

"I'd love to join you guys," Hyunjin was beginning to get up. 

"No, Hyunjin, you're staying here. Yerim, let's—"

But Hyunjin had already leaped off the bunk and linked her arm with Yerim's. "Let's go, Yerim!" 

Both Yerim and Hyunjin giggled, exaggerating their motions to mock marching soldiers toward the expanse of the small room and to the door, leaving Hyejoo in a daze on her chair. 

"Fucking hell."

They were barely out the door when Hyunjin was forcibly removed from Yerim's presence, Hyejoo stepping in her place and holding Yerim's hand. A glare was directed toward Hyunjin, who just laughed it off and migrated to Yerim's other side as they navigated through the halls of the dorm. 

_**:..:** _

"You really don't even remember her name?" Hyejoo looked at Hyunjin, her eyebrows lifted and her expression masked in disbelief. 

"Doesn't she have one of those plaques that have her name carved into it?" Yerim added, her expression similar to Hyejoo's as they sat across from her in the restaurant. 

"Maybe?" Hyunjin shrugged, her fingers drumming against the wood table. They'd finished eating but decided to stay and chat for a little longer. 

"Are you kidding me?" an exasperated sigh left Hyejoo as she leaned against the booth seat, one hand coming up to rub tiredly at her eyes. "She's your therapist!"

"She's only been with her for a couple of months," Yerim defended, glancing at Hyejoo who only gave her a deadpan look, in which Yerim leaned her face in until Hyejoo moved away with a huff. 

" _I_ even know her name, Hyunjin," Hyejoo sat up straight again only to then place her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. "Doctor Phen. Remember that, it's not even that hard to remember," she grunted when Yerim butted an elbow into her side. "Ouch," she mumbled, rubbing her minor injury. 

Hyunjin only laughed at the display, enjoying her friends' company. Despite them being a couple, she never felt like the odd one out or the third wheel—although, there _were_ times where they did sometimes forget Hyunjin was with them, but Hyunjin didn't mind. 

"She's good, though, right?" Yerim pondered, ignoring the way Hyejoo pouted at her. 

Glancing down at the table, Hyunjin shrugged, "As good as she can be, I guess."

Hyunjin missed the way Yerim and Hyejoo frowned at each other. "You guess?" Yerim tilted her head at Hyunjin, Hyejoo tilted her head the other way slightly. 

Again, Hyunjin shrugged, "I was just so used to Illver, y'know?"

"What happened to him again?" Hyejoo sounded concerned, making Hyunjin grimace. She didn't like her friends worrying about her or her problems. 

"Moved away after getting married."

"That's rough, buddy," at least Hyejoo sounded sincere about it, to which Yerim nodded in agreement with. 

But Hyunjin waved her hand dismissively, beaming a toothy grin to lighten the mood, "It's nothing! He scored with someone, that counts for something." She laughed at her own comment before jumping to the next thing that came to her mind, "Plus! Plus, Doctor Finn—"

"Phen."

"—Phen! Doctor Phen got a Newton's cradle!"

Hyejoo snorted in spite, only Yerim reacted in earnest, "Really?" 

To which, Hyunjin nodded excitedly, "Yeah! She even let me try it out a little!"

The table erupted back into friendly conversation, Yerim and Hyunjin often laughing along to something as Hyejoo sneered or scowled in the corner. Although, there were times when Hyejoo and Yerim would get caught up in their own conversation in which Hyejoo would finally form a small smile and her cheeks would flush or Yerim would grin unabashedly and edge herself closer to Hyejoo. 

Hyunjin couldn't get herself to be bothered by it, she enjoyed seeing them be so happy together without a care in the world as to what people might think about them. 

Instead of trying to delve back into the conversation or butt her way in, she turned toward the window beside her, watching people mill around lazily in the cool evening getting from point A to point B, or maybe even hanging around the plaza. 

She enjoyed it; simply watching people pass her by without a second thought. It was like she was watching from a one-way mirror; like she was in an aquarium looking in at all the sea creatures that milled about their daily lives. It was a strange analogy, Hyunjin knew, but she felt like it fit. 

It was peaceful. It was serene. It was nice and calm. 

And then a group of boys—probably not much older than ten or twelve—ran past the restaurant, yelling with excitement and vigor, shamelessly spraying water at each other with their toy water guns. They didn't care about the adults around them. They ran circles and zigzagged around them to avoid the spray from the water guns, they jumped over benches and hid behind the trees planted along the walkway. The boys just laughed and ran, so carefree and lively. 

Hyunjin grinned, removing her focus from the four boys to settle on something smaller and much, _much_ more carefree than any of the boys combined. Automatically, Hyunjin recognized the fluffy, dark brown fur and the bright yellow eyes even from across the plaza. 

"Pudding!" she exclaimed to herself, Yerim and Hyejoo still too caught up in their own conversation. Pressing herself up against the window, Hyunjin watched as he lied there contentedly, watching people pass him under the protection of a small tree. His tail was comfortably curled around his legs and his eyes were narrowed into slits. Pudding was the absolute embodiment of unadulterated bliss. 

All seemed well. The atmosphere was nothing but bliss—other than the boys running rampant with their water guns. 

Hyunjin felt like she could admire it all day. 

"What's with you watching all these serial killer documentaries lately, Yerim?"

"They're interesting!"

Unintentionally, Hyunjin tuned back into her friends' conversation, curious as to where it was leading to. 

"Oh, my god..." Hyejoo mumbled.

"What?" and poor Yerim, oblivious to her girlfriend's intentions, was walking right into a trap. It made Hyunjin grin in anticipation of what was to come. 

"You're gonna become a serial killer, aren't you?" 

"What?" Yerim exclaimed, fully facing Hyejoo and grabbing a hold of her wrist. "No! Of course—"

"Oh, my god. My girlfriend's gonna be a serial killer." Hyunjin laughed as Hyejoo feigned shock and despair. "I can't believe this. My own girlfriend becoming a cold-blooded murderer... What are the odds?"

"No, Hyejoo! Watch one— _one_ —documentary with me and then you'll see."

"Oh, my god you're trying to make me a serial killer now! Are we gonna be like Bonnie and Clyde?" Hyejoo gasped dramatically, bringing a hand up to cover her agape mouth, "Are you planning in going down in a shootout?" 

"No!" 

Hyunjin only laughed at how they went back and forth but turned back to the window since it seemed like their conversation would just go round in circles. Not that Hyunjin wouldn't mind witnessing how much Hyejoo was teasing and taunting Yerim, but she wanted to look at Pudding a little more. 

However, the moment she turned to face the plaza, her heart lurched into her throat and her stomach dropped to her toes when she saw the boys chasing and terrorizing Pudding with their water guns. They were relentless in their pursuit, ignoring the way the cat dashed away in fear with four boys stomping after him spraying water in their chase. She expected someone— _anyone_ —to put a stop to them but with the sun rapidly setting and the evening stars beginning to make their arrival in the sky no one was around to help Pudding. 

Without a second thought, Hyunjin spun around and leaped out of her seat, leaving her friends in befuddlement as she bounded out the booth. 

"What—hey! Where you goin'?" she heard Hyejoo call out. 

But there was no time for Hyunjin to explain. 

"To save Pudding!" she shouted as she began to weave her way past waiters and tables filled with other guests enjoying their food too much to be bothered by Hyunjin. 

She stood in the doorway of the restaurant, hastily sweeping her gaze around the plaza until she saw how the boys had cornered Pudding—his fur drenched but ruffled out in agitation, his spine arched in fear, his tail lashing back and forth in irritation, and his teeth bared in a hiss directed toward his pursuers. 

She stepped out of the doorway, beginning her mad dash to save the distressed cat but ended up colliding head-on with a girl who toppled over from the force of Hyunjin alone. Barely giving the girl sprawled out on the floor before her a glance, she rapidly made her apology toward her, "Shit, sorry! Gotta save a cat!" before sprinting off across the plaza shouting, "Hey! Leave him alone!" 

One of the boys picked his head up and turned to see Hyunjin storming her way over, but before he could warn his friends of the incoming danger, Hyunjin had lunged and snatched at his water gun only to begin spraying the group of boys relentlessly. "Get the fuck away from him!" 

Anger had fueled her impulsive actions. She never would have thought she'd be defending a cat with a mediocre water gun that barely sprayed two feet out in front of it while she was fired back with cold water that soaked through her clothes and got her hair all wet. But she couldn't let them win. She couldn't let them get away with terrorizing her favorite cat. 

Despite being outnumbered, Hyunjin fought back vigorously. Her finger on the plastic trigger pressing down repeatedly over and over again as she continuously switched from her for targets, making sure to hit every one of them as much as she could before she inevitably ran out of ammo—or in this case, water. In her fury—and lack of better options—Hyunjin reared her arm back to launch the entire plastic gun in the direction of the boys. 

It didn't seem to cross her mind that she could have actually _hit_ one of the boys—she definitely came close to knocking one upside the head—but she was too caught up in her mission to defend the cat. Her brash action, however, seemed to be enough to scare the boys enough to get them to flee. 

With a heaving chest and dripping clothes, she watched proudly as they all turned tail and ran, promptly shoving each other as they tried to get away as quick as they could. "Little brats," she muttered before spinning on her heel and feeling all her pride drain away when she saw Pudding huddled in a corner and sopping wet. He was trembling and, in that moment, he seemed so small and scared that Hyunjin felt her heart tug in sympathy for the poor cat. "Oh, buddy, I'm sorry."

Crouching down with slow motions, she then began to edge herself toward him with her arm out extended. She wanted to let him know that she wasn't his enemy or any sort of threat, she wanted him to make the first move into trusting her. And when it seemed like he was about to dart away, he slowly got up—Hyunjin's heart twinging at just how wet he was with the way he dripped water all around him—and sniffed the tips of her fingers, briefly making contact that had Hyunjin smiling when she was able to curl her fingers under his chin. 

"Is-Is he okay?" a timid voice called out from behind her. When Hyunjin turned to look over her shoulder, she was surprised to connect the rather deep voice with the girl standing with a sketchbook held tightly in her arms and her body being engulfed by a large hoodie. 

"Um." Hyunjin began, turning back toward the cat who now edged himself close enough to her that she was able to pick him up. He didn't struggle, to her surprise, and simply butted the top of his head to her jaw as she turned to face the other girl. "I-I think so? I think he's just soaked and scared, I-I dunno."

The girl came closer and Hyunjin froze in her spot because she hadn't expected an extra encounter with someone after fighting so valiantly with a gaggle of scoundrels. 

"Is he yours?" she asked when she was close enough to be in reaching distance of them, to which, she looked up to Hyunjin with questioning eyes that had Hyunjin diverting her gaze down to the cat instead. 

"No, um, no. He's a stray," she cleared her throat and shifted her weight from one foot to another anxiously. 

"You're not gonna leave him out here, are you?" she asked as she reached her hand out—similar to how Hyunjin did earlier—for Pudding to tentatively sniff her hand before butting his head to her palm right after. The girl smiled, now looking down at Pudding when he began to purr. 

"Well, I-I don't want to but there's a 'no pets' policy in our dorm," she cleared her throat again, coming to terms with the fact that she had no plan as to how to get Pudding all dry and warm again. "Plus, I don't think my roommate would appreciate it," she added absentmindedly. 

"I could take him back to my place. You know, get him dry and stuff and maybe give him some food or water."

While the offer was promising and wholesome, Hyunjin couldn't get over that lingering protectiveness over Pudding. Self-consciously, Hyunjin moved Pudding away from the girl's hand and shifted uncomfortably. "No offense," she started, diverting her gaze to the cat again when the girl looked up at her in confusion, "but how do I know you're not just gonna kidnap him— _catnap_ him?"

She was met with a loud laugh. "Would it make you feel better if _you_ also came along with? You could also get dry and stuff if you'd like."

Again, the offer sounded promising, Hyunjin couldn't help remembering Hyejoo and Yerim's conversation about serial killers— _or something_ —that made Hyunjin feel on edge even more. "No offense— _again_ —but what if you're some kind of serial killer?" she mumbled as she ran her fingers through Pudding's wet fur, feeling the vibrations from his body when he purred.

And, once again, the girl laughed. When Hyunjin finally dared to look up, she saw how the corner of her eyes crinkled when she laughed. She shook her head at Hyunjin, clearly amused by her wording. "Considering how you fought those boys," she motioned with her free hand toward the discarded water gun lying in the middle of the plaza, "I don't think you'll have much of a challenge against me." And then she swept her one arm over herself.

While Hyunjin was trying to persuade herself that talking to strangers was bad enough, but blindly following them into their homes was much, much worse, she couldn't convince herself that this girl had bad intentions. Pursing her lips, Hyunjin held up a fist with her pinky finger extended out, "Promise you won't kill me and that you're not one of those serial killers that get their own documentary and that I won't end up like those victims they talk about?" She said it fast, but she wanted to make sure that she was in the clear with this girl she was trusting. 

Undeterred by the strange request, the girl grinned and held up her own pinky finger before linking it with Hyunjin's with a determined nod. "Promise!"

"Okay," Hyunjin dropped her hand, the girl doing the same, before briefly glancing at the restaurant she had previously been at only to do a double-take when she saw Hyejoo and Yerim situated at the window. Hyejoo just had a bewildered expression while Yerim was trying to mouth things to her that Hyunjin couldn't catch. "So," she turned back to the girl, "where to?"

"This way," the girl beckoned for Hyunjin to follow as she led her in the opposite direction of the restaurant and past the water gun she had thrown earlier. "I'm Heejin, by the way." 

Hyunjin walked alongside Heejin, kicking the water gun to the side as they passed it. "Hyunjin."

In her arms, Pudding meowed and butted his head to her jaw again. 

"He's Pudding."

"Hi, Pudding."


	2. winky face.

The first thing that caught Hyunjin's eye when she stepped into Heejin's studio apartment was the large, vertical canvas positioned on an easel set in the small living room. The painting looked incomplete, there was still some empty space and messy, scrawled pencil sketches around the bottom half of the canvas but it had already mesmerized Hyunjin immediately. 

Absently, she handed Heejin Pudding for her to dry him in the bathroom. She took the opportunity to walk toward the canvas, taking a closer look at the seemingly hundreds of different daisies painted, all of them linked together by the stem like chains. But they weren't situated in rows or going all in the same direction; it was all sporadic. One chain ran horizontally across the canvas, another ran vertically, there would be one diagonally skewed to the left, some others were skewed to the right diagonally, the possibilities seemed endless. 

Hyunjin felt like it _should_ have seemed crowded; claustrophobic. But she couldn't get herself to see that when she spotted all the tiny little gaps between the daisies, all the smooth painted edges and curves, every shadow painted perfectly on the stems and petals, it all connected in some way to make it seem light and whole. Hyunjin felt like she could physically dive into this painting and land on the daisies feeling like it was a cloud. 

She wasn't an art buff by any means but she was intrigued by the hidden meaning behind the painting. Hyunjin couldn't quite grasp it or wrap it around her head. She simply found the painting beautiful. 

"I think Pudding's all dry," she heard Heejin speak up from behind, prompting her to turn around just as a dark brown blur dashed by her to make a break for the bedroom on the other side. Pudding leaped up onto Heejin's bed, stretched his legs while releasing a big yawn, and then curling up in the center. Hyunjin smiled at the sight before turning to Heejin who held a soft yellow towel in her hand, "Now it's your turn!"

Accepting the towel, Hyunjin simply put it over her head and shoulders, looking very much as if she were wearing a hoodie before watching Heejin sit down on the couch in the living room and pat the empty space beside her. 

"My clothes are still wet," Hyunjin picked at her damp t-shirt, hating the way it stuck to her body. 

Without missing a beat, Heejin dashed away from her couch and over to her bathroom, leaving Hyunjin in a slight daze before she came back with another yellow towel and placed it down on the spot on the couch where Hyunjin could sit. "There! See?"

Muttering her thanks, Hyunjin tentatively sat down. She felt out of her element. She couldn't remember the last time she was invited to someone's house—someone _new_ , for that matter, there were times when Hyejoo or Yerim would invite her to their family's houses during breaks.

Hyunjin just felt out of place, she didn't know what to say, what to do. All she could get herself to do was sit there with the towel wrapped around her head and shoulders while toying with the soft fabric.

"Did you name him Pudding?" Heejin asked and when Hyunjin turned to look at her, she saw Heejin watching Pudding curled up on her bed. 

Struck by the sudden question, Hyunjin couldn't help but stutter a little, "Um, yeah. Yeah, that's what I named him." She pursed her lips and nodded, her own focus diverting to Pudding. The origin of Pudding's name suddenly came to mind for Hyunjin and she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up within her. "His fur looks just like chocolate pudding!" she explained, tightening the towel around her head. 

To her surprise, Heejin laughed along with her and nodded her head, "I see it!" Heejin turned to look at Hyunjin with a beaming grin on her face. "His fur really does look like chocolate pudding!" 

And maybe it warmed Hyunjin up hearing that because one of the only times she had told someone why she had named a cat pudding, she got teased—i.e. _Hyejoo_. At least Yerim was more responsive and kind about it, much like how Heejin reacted. But it felt better hearing it come from Heejin considering she had just met her and so far it seemed like she was pretty genuine about everything—or at least, Hyunjin thought so. 

A small silence fell between them once Heejin turned back around to watch Pudding who seemed asleep. It left Hyunjin feeling the anxiety beginning to kick in the more she realized just how out of her element she felt. 

"I know..." Heejin trailed off, momentarily catching Hyunjin off guard by the sudden interruption. "I know you were worried about me being a... a _catnapper_ and all but—" she turned to look at Hyunjin, the latter, once again, thrown off by the eye contact she failed to maintain for longer than a minute. "Can I keep him here? Just for the night? I dunno, I just feel like—I don't want him sleeping out there after what those boys did to him, you know?"

Hyunjin, ideally, wasn't sure how to react. On one hand, she wasn't expecting the question at all; she thought that both her and Pudding would stay at Heejin's for an hour at most, get dry, and then they'd both leave to which Hyunjin would leave Pudding in the plaza where he frequents and she would go back to her dorm room, and that would be that. They'd all go their separate ways, resuming their daily lives and leaving the event as a distant memory for future storytelling. 

On the other hand, Hyunjin really couldn't think as to why it would be a bad thing. She hadn't known Pudding for all his life but there was a possibility he'd never experienced a roof over his head (although considering how amicable and friendly he is towards people, it hardly left much to the imagination; Hyunjin felt like he _must_ have had some kind of home before). And as she looked at Heejin—finally mustering up the courage to do so—she really couldn't find any bad intentions within her request. How much harm could it actually cause?

"I-I mean," she faltered, unintentionally stuttering until she cleared her throat and began to nod her head. "Yeah. Yeah, I think that'd be good for him," she replied earnestly, producing a small reassuring smile toward Heejin who's expression completely changed to that of pure elatedness. 

"Really?" she exclaimed, edging herself closer to Hyunjin from her excitement. 

But Hyunjin, not so used to physical contact, flinched involuntarily. Glad to see that Heejin didn't notice, she simply nodded in affirmation, "Y-Yeah! He seems to really like your bed, anyway." An airy laugh escaped her as her gaze briefly flickered to Pudding, Heejin doing the same as she turned back around. They seemed to do that a lot; switching from looking and talking to each other and then looking at Pudding and talking about him. It amused Hyunjin how back and forth they seemed to be going about everything with a lot of ease.

"I don't mind sharing!" Heejin replied, jumping up to her feet and crossing the threshold into her bedroom—which, ideally, wasn't really much considering there was no wall or door separating the living room, bedroom, or kitchen. It was only the bathroom that had its own door—which made sense considering privacy and all that. Hyunjin watched as Heejin gingerly pet Pudding behind his ears, and even in the living room, Hyunjin could hear his loud purring from where she sat. 

Hyunjin took the opportunity to dry herself some more with the towel she had, pressing against her damp hair and around her shirt where she got hit the most by water. After this, Hyunjin decided, she would go back home. Although, she should probably text Hyejoo and Yerim considering she had left them behind in the dust. But, as she tried searching her pockets for her phone, she came to the realization that she didn't have it with her. While any _rational_ person would understandably freak out a little, perhaps even panic at the prospect of losing their phone. But Hyunjin really only used her phone to bother Hyejoo during class, talk to Yerim during class, or completely disregard she was in class entirely and play some video games to pass the time. 

"Um," she began to slowly get up, patting her pockets again just in case she somehow managed to miss her phone, "I think I lost my phone." She heard Heejin gasp, making her smile at how theatric it sounded. And when she saw the horrified look on Heejin's face, she waved one hand dismissively to ease her worries, "But-but I bet my roommate picked it up or-or something," some of her stuttering came involuntarily, she wished the habit would just go away. "So, I better go home before m-my roommate starts to worry," that was a lie; Hyejoo probably forgot all about her the moment she walked into their dorm room. 

"I understand!" Heejin bounded back over—once again crossing the invisible threshold that separated the two rooms—and over to Hyunjin with a grin. There was something childish—well, not exactly _childish_ but something _child-like_ —about Heejin that Hyunjin found strangely endearing. "I'll take good care of Pudding! Cats like milk, right?" her eyebrows quirked up and her head tilted to the side, reminding Hyunjin of a puppy confused by hearing a new sound. 

"Oh," Hyunjin shook her head, the thought of Pudding getting sick over a mistake terrifying her. "No, cats are lactose intolerant."

"But kittens drink milk?" 

Hyunjin shugged, not too sure about the specifics, "I dunno. Kittens can drink milk from their mommas but adult cats can't drink human milk."

"You mean milk from cows, right?"

"Oh," realizing her mistake, Hyunjin merely laughed rather than getting embarrassed. "Yeah."

Heejin laughed with her— _not at her_ —and shook her head slightly. "Then I'll rule milk out and..." she trailed off, her bottom lip poking out and her pointer finger extended. "What can cats eat?" 

Again, she wasn't an expert on the specifics. "W-Well, he never seemed to have a problem when I gave him bread." At least, she hoped he never had a problem with bread. He always ate it regardless when she gave it to him so he couldn't imagine Pudding being any different from any other bread. 

"Bread and water it is!" Heejin grinned, making Hyunjin grin along with her. "Besides, it's only for a night. No harm, no foul."

Hyunjin hummed, nodding and finally taking the towel off her head. Before she could even figure out where to put it, Heejin took it upon herself to grab the towel from her hands and tossed it onto the other one still on the couch. Hyunjin looked over at Pudding one last time, feeling like a mother about to part from her child going off to some summer camp. She couldn't help the bashful smile that overcame her at the thought. 

"You'll take care of him tonight, right?" Hyunjin mumbled, fiddling her fingers now that she didn't have the towel to occupy her hands. 

"Promise!" Heejin confirmed, one hand coming up with her pinky finger extended. 

Grinning now, Hyunjin didn't hesitate to link her pinky finger with Heejin's—much like how they did earlier that day. 

And as quick as they were to seal their promise, Heejin quickly retracted her fingers—her expression quickly morphing into something Hyunjin couldn't quite decipher because she was then running around the living room looking for something. 

"I can't find any of my pens!" Heejin exclaimed causing Hyunjin to laugh at the irony of it; here was Heejin—seemingly some kind of artist with all kinds of paintings and drawing lying about—but unable to find a crucial utensil that could practically be found in any household. 

"What do you need one for?" Hyunjin pondered, spinning in a circle when Heejin made a mad dash toward her kitchen on the other side of the living room—there was a kitchen bar with some stools set around it that essentially separated the two rooms. 

"I was gonna give you my phone number so I can update you about Pudding!" she was pulling out multiple drawers, her brows furrowed so that a small creased formed between them the more frustrated she got. 

But when an absurd and outlandish idea popped into Hyunjin's mind—her eagerness only heightening when she turned around to look at the various paintbrushes sitting on the easel—she couldn't help but grin. "Just paint it!" she called out, a laugh coming easy when she saw the way Heejin's head popped out from behind the kitchen bar like she was in some sort of cartoon.

"Perfect! Let me just find a piece of paper..." she rounded back from the kitchen, the tip of her tongue poking out as she tried to find some source where she could find some paper to use. 

But again, Hyunjin had a bizarre and unnecessary idea, "Paint it on my arm."

"On your arm?" Heejin repeated, stopping in her tracks right beside Hyunjin, a small smile threatening to lift her lips up. "You sure? I could just rip a piece of paper from my sketchbook, or something." 

Hyunjin shook her head, extending her arm out impulsively. "It'd be like a temporary tattoo!" And then, she added, "Plus, we save some trees this way. Just like the Lorax wanted."

Her last comment made Heejin laugh, causing Hyunjin to join in. "All right," Heejin relented, moving toward her easel and picking up one of the smaller looking brushes, "you got me there. Now, what color would you like?"

_**:..:** _

"Where the hell have you been?" Hyunjin picked her head up immediately after closing the door behind her— _really_ closing it this time—upon hearing Hyejoo's annoyed tone. Rather than being at her desk behind her computer, she was sitting on top of Hyunjin's bunk with her eyes narrowed and a scowl tugging her lips down. 

"Out," Hyunjin mumbled, feeling like she was being reprimanded by a parent who caught her in the midst of sneaking out. 

"Jesus, of course, you were fucking out, but _where_?" Hyejoo pressed. 

"I-I helped Pudding! Some girl took me to her apartment to g-get him dried and stuff," she explained it quickly, not wanting Hyejoo to be mad at her. "Are you mad?" she mumbled, diverting her gaze to the floor. Now she _really_ felt like a child getting in trouble—she didn't like the feeling of it all over again. 

She heard Hyejoo sigh before hearing a dull thud indicating she had dropped down from the top bunk. "No," a phone— _her_ phone—was suddenly in her view. When she looked up, she saw Hyejoo with a softened gaze and her head tilted to the side. "I'm not mad at you." Hyunjin took her phone briefly remembering the digits painted on her arm. "I'm just ticked off because Yerim got mad at _me_ for not worrying about you."

Confused, Hyunjin furrowed her brows, "Worrying about me?"

"We didn't know where you went and we couldn't contact you so she got all worried and paranoid thinking you were 'boutta get murdered or kidnapped or something." Hyejoo waved her hand dismissively, trudging toward her desk and turned her computer on. "It's all those stupid serial killer documentaries she's been watching, I swear." 

Hyunjin laughed in spite of herself. "There was nothing to worry about," she assured, absently turning on her phone to see if she got any new notifications—not that she expected any from actual people, but she was hoping to see if there were any updates from any of the games on her phone. 

"See—that's exactly what I told her!" Hyejoo exclaimed, spinning her chair around to express her distress to Hyunjin. "She's getting all paranoid for nothing," she muttered as she reached for her own phone waiting for her computer to boot itself up. "Better text her now to let her know you're home safe and sound so she'll stop giving me the silent treatment."

Hyunjin laughed at that—immediately receiving an annoyed glare from Hyejoo—before she pulled up her own contact list on her phone. She looked back and forth from her arm to her phone, beginning to type the digits into her phone. 

Hyejoo, observing from the side once she had finished texting Yerim, spoke up, "Whatcha up to there, bud?" 

Hyunjin hummed but didn't pay her any mind until she made sure she got all the numbers right for Heejin's contact, "Nothin'."

She heard footsteps come toward her and before she could do anything, the phone was snatched out of her hand. "Is this the girl you were with?" Hyejoo teased, dodging and weaving her way around Hyunjin's arms when she tried getting her phone back. "She gave you her number? What's her name? Is she cute? She's cute, right?" 

"Who cares? Give it back!" Hyunjin tried grabbing her phone, but for whatever reason, Hyejoo eluded every one of her attempts. 

Hyejoo laughed, finally relenting and tossing her phone to Hyunjin who caught it easily, inspecting the messaging app to see if Hyejoo had sent anything to Heejin she might regret, only to be relieved when she found nothing. "I just wanted to see, chill." 

Thinking that was the end of the teasing, Hyunjin made to go get ready for a shower but was stopped when Hyejoo grabbed at her arm and looked at the numbers scrawled in bright pink paint across her arm. She let go with a taunting grin, "What, paper wasn't good enough?" 

Hyunjin, with a huff, moved past Hyejoo to grab some clothes and get ready for the night. "We're saving the trees."

Hyejoo only cackled after hearing Hyunjin's defense, "Like the Lorax?" 

Ignoring her, Hyunjin gathered her things and left to go shower, leaving her phone on her bed before she left. 

_**:..:** _

Hyunjin was drying her hair with a towel when she walked back into her dorm, only to be engulfed in a tight hug the minute she walked through the door. 

"Oh," Hyunjin managed to huff out. "Hi, Yerim."

" _Hyunjin_ ," Yerim whined, removing herself from her only to flick Hyunjin on the forehead. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

Flinching at the contact, Hyunjin rubbed the spot where she got flicked, "Ow..."

"Hyunjin got out just fine," both Yerim and Hyunjin turned to look at Hyejoo indulging in her game. It looked like _League of Legends_ again. "Also, you're welcome, Hyun."

Confused by the sudden comment, Hyunjin looked to Yerim for any sort of answer but she was too busy glaring at Hyejoo. "Um, what am I thanking you for?" she resorted to just getting the answer out of Hyejoo considering Yerim looking like she could incinerate her girlfriend if she glared at her long enough. 

"Helping you." That was all Hyejoo responded with, only baffling Hyunjin more because what did Hyejoo do to possibly help her?

Before she could delve in and get to the bottom of Hyejoo's vague responses, Yerim grabbed hold of her arm to lead her up to Hyunjin's bed. "Ignore her," Hyejoo scoffed, Yerim continued undeterred, "I'm gonna show you what happens when serial killers find their victims."

Hyunjin let herself be dragged onto her bed, momentarily grabbing her phone and placing it inside her hoodie's pockets so she could lay side-by-side with Yerim who was getting her laptop set up. "But I wasn't with a serial killer," Hyunjin argued with no real malice in her tone, just merely stating a fact. 

"Doesn't matter," Yerim replied quickly, seeming very invested in getting a documentary up and running for Hyunjin to watch. "This is for future reference."

"Are there that many murderers out there?"

"Well, I don't know. But there are a lot, I'm guessing."

"Oh. Hyejoo, do you wanna join us?" Hyunjin called out, glancing over the railing to take a peek at Hyejoo at her desk. 

"No."

"Nope."

Both Yerim and Hyejoo responded at the same time, momentarily surprising Hyunjin until she laughed at their synchronization. Sure they were going at it with each other at the moment, but Hyunjin knew it would pass shortly—those two could never really stay mad at each other for long. 

"Which one do you wanna start with, Hyun?" Yerim asked, and before Hyunjin could respond with any sort of answer Yerim backtracked herself. "Actually, we can start with Ted Bundy—you know who he is, right?"

Yerim looked at her so intently, as if knowing Ted Bundy was simply common knowledge and some household name, but Hyunjin shook her head because she truly had never heard of someone called that. "No?"

"Oh, my god, okay. It's fine, this is a perfect first step," Yerim began to search for the certain documentary, leaving Hyunjin to wonder how learning about a serial killer could be a stepping stone for her. 

"Before you start watching that," Hyejoo piped up, and when Hyunjin turned to look at her she saw that Hyejoo was still immersed in her video game. "Check your texts, Hyun."

Even more confused, Hyunjin complied as she unlocked her phone and opened the app up only to stare at the screen in complete shock when she saw a very short conversation she did not start. 

"Wh—a _winky face_? A winky face? Wh-Why did you send a winky face?" she held the phone up to her face, her eyes going over each digital letter and character, her anxiety increasing tenfold at the prospect of talking to someone she didn't know too well when she didn't even initiate the conversation. She read the first message at the very top—the one that Hyejoo had sent without her knowing—over and over again: _Hey ;) it's Hyunjin_. 

"I'm setting you up!" Hyejoo laughed, either completely oblivious to Hyunjin's despair or wallowing in it like it was some sort of treasure. "It was nothing even that bad, don't worry. She seems nice, anyway—I wanted to see if she was some bitch or something."

"Well, she isn't!" Hyunjin defended quickly, looking at the other text Heejin sent back—there were only a couple of texts on the screen; the few that Hyejoo sent simply letting Heejin know she got home all right and then the ones from Heejin expressing her relief.

"Ooh," Hyejoo cooed, her tone teasing and taunting, "feisty." 

"Knock it off, Hyejoo," Yerim shot back, taking the phone from Hyunjin as Hyejoo grumbled something from below.

"Whipped," Hyunjin quipped.

"Shut it, Hyun."

"Both of you shut up," Yerim interjected, giving Hyunjin her phone back and promptly starting the documentary. "Hyunjin, pay attention, this is _crucial_ ," Hyejoo snapped her attention to the laptop, already beginning to get distracted with everything going on around her. "You're gonna witness first hand what can happen if you fall into the clutches of a serial killer," she narrated dramatically.

"Which will _never_ happen," again, Hyejoo spoke up from below which initiated a retaliation from Yerim as she plucked one of Hyunjin's stuffed animals—a small black cat with button eyes—and launched it down toward her girlfriend. "Jesus, Yerim, you nearly made me die!"

"Good!" Hyunjin watched in shocked amusement as Yerim settled back down as if nothing happened. 

Cautiously, Hyunjin rested her head over the railing, seeing her stuffed cat cast aside on the desk. "Hey, Hyejoo, could you toss Toast back up?" She heard Hyejoo grumble something and before Hyunjin could even process what was happening, a small black cat stuffed animal was hurled in her direction and hit her square in the face, bouncing off, and landing harmlessly onto the bed. "Ouch. Thanks," Hyunjin responded, settling back down into her respective spot next to Yerim and finally focusing her attention on the documentary. 

But before she could fully grasp what was going on with so many people talking on the screen, her phone buzzed. Expecting it to be her _My_ _Singing Monsters_ game letting her know that she had created a new type of monster, she was surprised to see Heejin's name popped up instead. Not letting her anxiety get the best of her, she opened up the notification only to be met with a picture of Heejin—seemingly lying stomach-down on her bed—with Pudding rubbing his head against her cheek. Heejin was sporting a smile, one of her eyes closed because of Pudding's close proximity, and one of her hands formed in a thumbs-up pose. 

Hyunjin found herself smiling at the picture and her smile only broadened when another text popped up below the picture:

_Taking good care of him!_

Quickly, so as to not upset Yerim due to her not paying attention, Hyunjin sent a smiley face— _no wink included_ —and placed her phone face down on her stomach as she turned back to the documentary, trying to jump back into the subject at hand and trying to ignore the giddiness that bubbled within her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE TO GET READY FOR WORK NOW THANK YOU FOR READING ENJOY IF YOU WANT YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @KIIDDWAY BYE THANKS BYE


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